Look for Marquez to beat Pacquiao; Arreola-Releford & Thompson-Harris on Friday; More!

By Van Dunn: Juan Manuel Marquez has apparently received his wish to get pound per pound king Manny “The Greatest” Pac-Man Pacquiao back into the ring for the third, and not the last time in November of this year. Yes, that’s right, you read it correctly. Pacquiao and Marquez will not only be fighting on November 12, 2011, but again for the fourth and final time later in the future, because I see Marquez as finally getting his much deserved “W” against an over hyped, and over confident Manny Pacquiao.

Don’t get me wrong, Manny Pacquiao is without a doubt a very good and exciting fighter, and he sits atop the boxing world as the current number one best fighter in the world, but unfortunately, Pacquiao has not been fighting the best competition in the world. Sure, Manny has moved up in weight to fight bigger guys, but he hasn’t moved up in weight to fight the most skillful guys, so what has he really been doing? Oscar De La Hoya no longer possessed one of the best jabs in boxing when Pac faced him. Antonio Margarito was no longer the so-called most avoided man in boxing when Pac faced him, and there was nothing sweet about how Sugar Shane Mosley was fighting when Pacquiao fought him. Ricky Hatton, and Miguel Cotto were very good wins for Pacquiao, and he deserves the benefit of a doubt there, but Pacquiao fighting Joshua Clottey doesn’t even deserve the time or attention to even speak on, but yet these are all of the recent fighters that Pacquiao has fought to be recognized as the world’s best.

Marquez on the other hand has continued to show his true grit as a boxer by fighting younger, livelier, and better quality competition than Pac, hence the competitive nature of his bouts. By better quality, I don’t mean better fighters, as Pac has definitely fought the bigger names, but Marquez has definitely fought guys with a lot more in the tank than Pac has. Marquez is also the stereotypical counter puncher and his style has, and still will prove fits for Pac. It was Pac that floored Marquez three times in the first round of their first match, but he was not able to put him away, because Marquez used his superb counter punching skills to battle all the way back into the fight. Pac’s fans may say that Pac is a much different and better fighter today, but I just don’t see it because Pacquiao still swings with reckless abandonment leaving himself open for big counter shots. Why did Team Pac fight Erik Morales in a quick three fight trilogy that were not that competitive, as opposed to fighting a much more competitive third match with Marquez? I will tell you why, it is because styles make fights. Roach and Arum have been masters at waiting for the right time to match Pacquiao against the right, hand picked opponents, but I am afraid that they may have made a miscalculation this time. Again, Marquez is a true counter puncher that will pick his spots and find the right time to catch his opponents, while Pacquiao continues to be a volume puncher who wastes a ton of energy. Marquez has been waiting too long to prove that he has the style and skills to dethrone Pac to let this opportunity pass him by, and these fights between Pac and Marquez are starting to remind me of the three fights between Antonio Tarver vs. Roy Jones Jr. Tarver knew that he had the style to give Roy fits, and he put a ton of public pressure on Roy to fight him. After Jones beat Tarver in their initial meeting, Tarver got his chance again, and he made Roy pay……this time, look for Marquez to make Pacquiao pay.

Arreola-Releford and Thompson-Harris on Friday night

Reno, NV (May 25, 2011) -This Friday California’s Chris Arreola (31-2, 27 KOs, WBC #2, IBF #5, World Boxing Organization (WBO) #13, WBA #15) will meet Kendrick “The Apostle” Releford (22-14-2, 10 KOs) in front of fight fans at Reno Events Center and on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights at 9:00 ET on ESPN2.

In the co-main event Washington’s Tony “The Tiger” Thompson (35-2, 23 KOs, IBF #7) will trade leather with Newark, New Jersey’s Maurice “Sugar Mo” Harris (24-14-2, 10 KOs, IBF #6) in a 12-round IBF heavyweight title elimination bout.

The event is promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions.

Tickets for the May 27 boxing card at the Reno Events Center are priced at $100, $59.50 and $29.50. Tickets may be purchased at Reno Events Center, Eldorado and Silver Legacy’s Ticket Offices, or by phone at 1-800-745-3000 and on line at www.ticketmaster.com.

Doors open at 4 p.m. with the first bout at 5 pm. The first ESPN televised bout is set for 9 p.m. PT / 6 p.m. PT.

War at Woodland Hills Returns To Warner Center Marriott Friday, June 3

Woodland Hills, California, May 25, 2011 – Professional Boxing returns to the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills, California on Friday, June 3, 2011. Presented by Art of Boxing Promotions, in association with Bash Boxing, the previous show at the Warner Center Marriott completely sold out with over 100 fans turned away at the door.

Already becoming known for some of the best and most even matched boxing shows in Southern California, War at Woodland Hills IV will feature an 8 round Cruiserweight battle between two former amateur stars, Anatoliy “The Dragon Man” Dudchenko (11-2, 8KOs) and Michael “Famous” Simms (21-13-2, 13KOs).Dudchenko is a past member of the Ukrainian National Team and has reeled of 8 victories in a row.Simms, a former U.S. Olympian and World Amateur Champion when he defeated current WBA Heavyweight Champion David Haye, has faced a who’s who of World Class talent.

The War at Woodland Hills IV at the Warner Center Marriott will also feature a stacked undercard of highly regarded local fighters including Oxnard’s Hugo Centeno, Glendale’s Artur Bernetsyan, Woodland Hills’ own Ivan Castaneda and Ether Arvizu, Montebello’s Andres Reyes and the pro debut of Robert Garcia trained fighter, Erik Ruiz.

In addition to an action-packed night of pro boxing, WAR AT WOODLAND HILLS IV will have a special attraction LUCHE LIBRE tag team bout and a Ring Card Girl Bikini Contest with the winner earning an opportunity to become THE RING Magazine’s Ring Card Girl Of The Month.

Tickets to THE WAR AT WOODLAND HILLS can be purchased online by going to www.bashboxing.com or by calling (626) 388-8888. THE WAR AT WOODLAND HILLS IV takes place on Friday, June 3, 2011 in the Grand Ballroom of the Warner Center Marriott in Woodland Hills.Doors Open at 7:00 pm, First Bout at 7:30 pm.